-
A film on the preservation of Sanskrit and Tibetan texts With this feature film, I want viewers to quickly move from asking why to wanting to learn how: how the mission will be accomplished, how it will all turn out, and perhaps even how they—the viewers—might become agents for accomplishing such a purpose in their…
-
A documentary about converting gangs into faith communities In Guatemala and elsewhere in Central America, a wave of criminal violence has replaced the politically motivated violence of the 1980s and early 90s. With thousands of members, transnational youth gangs such as MS-13 and the 18th Street Gang now pose a significant threat to citizen security…
-
A film on social media, nationalism, and the Indian diaspora India is home to the second-largest online user community globally. Its global diaspora adds to its expansive scope. Sahana Udupa’s film Nationalism 2.0 dives into the worlds of social media users in India and the diaspora in the United Kingdom and how they post, repost, joke, troll,…
-
Tim Slade’s film describes how assaults against a society’s infrastructure lead to the annihilation of its people The history and culture of a people are not just preserved in their written texts. They are also housed in the physical structures that shelter them and mark their existence in the world. Residences, communal spaces, places of…
-
A Study of Refugee Resettlement in Italy Narrating Authentic Refugee Experiences What does it mean to accompany someone? Is “integration” always the correct word? What is “culture clash?” Can a person cause harm even when they act in good faith? What is the proper amount of distance to keep while welcoming another? —Analysis/Conclusions, Human Lines,…
-
Two films that showcase the struggles of Indonesian women The Indonesian Pluralities project, created by Robert W. Hefner and Zainal Abidin Bagir, was a multimedia initiative focused on studying pluralism and conflict in Indonesia. Two of the films in the series of documentaries they produced focused specifically on struggles for gender equality. Three Voices (36…
-
Josee Molavi’s film explores the unbreakable connection between a land, its people, and the spiritual world In September 2017, Hurricane Maria ripped through the Caribbean. Of the 3,059 deaths caused by the storm, 2,975 were suffered in Puerto Rico. When the United States government dragged its feet in getting humanitarian aid to the island, it…
-
When the Forest Weeps centers the Kichwa people’s fight to preserve life in the heart of the Amazon “They will have to assassinate us to enter here. As long as we are alive, we will not permit it. Even if they send the best army in the world.” These are the words of Gerardo Walingu…
-
A film series on equality and faith in post-pandemic Indonesia Indonesian Pluralities is a film, print and multimedia project that explores cultural and religious diversity, democracy, and civic coexistence in contemporary Indonesia. Spearheaded by Robert B. Hefner at Boston University and Zainal B. Abidin Bagir at Gadjah Mada University, it explores both the rich promise…
-
This documentary examines climate change as a driving force of migration from Central America to the United States In the city of Quetzaltenango in the Western Highlands of Guatemala, a small group of local activists organize to preserve their people’s basic right to make a living in the land of their birth. As suggested by…
